


Nocturne

by Sova_Kb08



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Murder, Piano, Suicide Attempt, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:06:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22736116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sova_Kb08/pseuds/Sova_Kb08
Summary: He wanted to see his performance once again.
Relationships: Shen/Zed (League of Legends), Shieda Kayn/Zed
Kudos: 15





	1. Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 60

**Author's Note:**

> Might have some grammatical mistakes.  
> Translated(Korean-English) and edited.
> 
> Enjoy ;)

'You know, that old and dirty instrument shop at the city outskirts. Some of my friends saw that kid playing the piano there.'

'My, why do they let _those kinds_ here? Music competitions these days.......'

'Well, isn't it obvious that kid will be a good springboard for our kids?'

A teenage-looking boy with a silver hair stopped walking after he heard that conversation. Hiding at the hallway which was not easily seen from the main lobby, he bit his lips. Shen said everything will be fine. He looked down. He could see the number tag with a huge '1' attached to his suit which Shen's father prepared for him. He first thought to pull it out and hold it with his hands, but he couldn't.

"Zed!" The boy with a red hair called his name loud enough that got everyone's attention. The two old lady who were having a short talk turned their heads to the boy who ran to the hallway. He always overreacted and was especially loud when it comes to these kind of stuff.

He could feel his face was getting red-hot. Zed quickly hold Shen's wrist and brought him to the different end of the hallway. Luckily, there were less people as they were all waiting for their turn. Staring a nervous boy with his gold eyes, Zed opened his mouth.

"Is this your way to get rid of your nervousness? Making someone freak out?" Zed was talking bluntly, blaming Shen. But honestly, he was thankful that Shen came to him. There is still time till the middle school music competition start. The people who pass by them were cleaners cleaning the banners of the primary school music competition that was held in a different concert hall. Zed stared at the clock and then looked at Shen. He was moving his fingers on his thighs, like he was pressing the piano keys.

'Well, the Shen I know is a confident guy making silly jokes till sundown. Guess he is very nervous than before.' Thinking, Zed stood in front of Shen and dusted off cookie crumbs from his nice suit.

"I know you practiced night and day. Don't be nervous. You'll do fine. By the way, how could you eat the whole cookie without giving one to me."

"I'm like this every single time when I am waiting for my turn, Zed. Always nervous." Shen smiled, looking at Zed's number tag. Zed saw Shen's tag with the number 8 printed on it. He remembered what the people at the lobby said about him, but he quickly wiped it out from his head.

"I'll do my best. Don't be nervous like a fool, just play it like you did at home." Shen nodded, holding Zed's hands.

When he tried to say something to Zed, an announcement from the middle school music competition came out from the speakers of the hallway and the lobby. Without listening to Shen, Zed quickly left leaving him alone. He rushed to the concert hall where the judges were waiting for the first performer. 

All the performance were done, and people were waiting for the result. Zed observed the people and the other performers. Some were crying as they did small mistakes during their performance, and some were talking with their friends, satisfied with their performance. He also saw the two ladies who were talking about him. They looked pretty frustrated of their children's performance. It was hard for Zed not to smirk. He waited for Shen to come out. As always, Shen's performance was perfect. No, it was above perfect. While he was doing lots of thinking, Shen suddenly hugged Zed from behind. How can he be this strong, while playing the piano that exquisitely? Zed punched Shen's back as he could not breathe well. Shen, who got back his cute smiles finally released him from his hugs.

"Are you trying to kill your rival?!"

Breathing heavily, Zed huffed. But when he looked up and saw Shen's face, he had to look down and hid his face. Why is my face blushing? still looking down, Zed dusted his suit and tried not to make an eye contact with Shen. He saw Shen's father, Kusho talking with people who came to watch the competition.

Kusho was the first person who found Zed's talents on playing the piano. Remembering his smiles after Zed finished his first performance, Zed made a slight smile on his face. Like he felt Zed was watching him, Kusho looked at Zed. He smiled at him, and Zed gave him a slight nod. Then, one of the judges came out from the concert hall and walked up to the podium. Everyone's attention went to the old man's paper.

"That was fast."

"Don't be a coward. It is just numbers, Shen." Although he said like that, Zed was also being nervous as Shen. Catching Zed's feelings, Shen grinned at Zed. Feeling embarrassed, Zed poked Shen in the ribs. The judge with the paper cleared his throat, and everyone gave close attention to his announcement. 


	2. Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "......Make one dumb mistake then I'll kick you out."  
>  "Okay, okay. You always overreact when I choose this one."  
>  The boy sat straight and rolled up his sleeves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy ;)

"So?"

"So what? That's end of story."

"You didn't told me who was the first."

"I don't remember. It was not that important."

"You are letting me down, Zed."

"Finished playing the piano? Then go back home, kid."

The boy's mouth pouted. The boy's name was Shieda Kayn. He was wearing a grey jacket above his school uniform. His long dark blue hair was braided, and he had a highlighted blue front hair. Zed stood up from an old stool and tried to close the cover of the piano with his left hand, but the surprised boy stopped him to do so.

"W, wait! Wait! Just one more! One more score and I'll go!"

Zed looked pretty annoyed from the boy, holding the cover with his two hands. He sat on his stool again, and saw Kayn choosing his last song. The boy picked up one of the scores inside the wooden box. Looking at the title of the score, one of Zed's eyebrows went up.

"......Make one dumb mistake then I'll kick you out."

"Okay, okay. You always overreact when I choose this one."

Kayn sat straight and rolled up his sleeves.

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2. Zed leaned on the boxes behind the stool and listened to the boy's music. His talent was impressive, as he applied all his coaching to his performance in just a few weeks. Listening to the smooth recital inside an old instrument shop, Zed went into his thoughts and closed his eyes. _His_ performance on this score was more delicate than this. Although he will never play the piano when it comes to Nocturnes. He opened his eyes and looked at Kayn's back. This kid should go to a better place to practice and get a better training from a professional, instead of this old instrument shop and me. While Zed was lost in thought, Kayn's fingers stopped and he sighed with relief. The boy closed the piano case and put the score inside the wooden box. He looked at Zed, looking forward to hear his praise.

"How was it? I didn't made any mistakes." Kayn's eyes were twinkling. Feeling pressured, Zed opened his mouth with a compliment.

"Good. You fixed some parts that I didn't liked. By the way, you should play it more softly." It looked like that Kayn didn't liked Zed's 'compliment'.  


"It will be like playing a piano with a feather." Grumbling, Kayn picked up his bag and dusted off his jacket. Before he leave the shop, Kayn turned his body towards Zed, trying to stand up.

"Don't stay all night drinking, have a proper dinner."

Then he left the shop.

Ha, ha. Very astute of you, kid. Murmuring, Zed looked behind his stool and picked up his bottle of whiskey. He looked outside. It was sundown and all the lights of the streets were starting to shine, brightening the streets. Zed turned his eyes to the wooden box and the piano. On the wooden box, the Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 score which Kayn played was on the top of the pile. His golden eyes looked over it and opened the piano case. He pulled out his right hand from the pocket, and sat on the seat. Putting the score in front of him, he took a deep breath. He put his hands on the piano keys. It has been so long since he played a piano. His right hands were trembling. He tried to press the keys to play the first few notes, but his right hand could not get a good sense of dynamics nor press the right key. He gave up playing the piano and stood up. Then, he saw a man who came into his shop. Zed leered at the calendar and said to the man.

"I didn't expected you to come again."

The man did not say a word, but went to the back room of the instrument shop.

His face was cleft with deep lines than before. Dark shades under his eyes showed that he couldn't slept well for a few days or so. Anniversary of Kusho's death was last week. He didn't even contacted Zed that he'll be visiting him. Before he follow the man, Zed shut the shop's curtains and locked the door.

"You killed him. Zed, you killed my father."

Shen was grabbed Zed's throat and demanded for answers. He was crying. His utterance was broken by sobs, and Zed stared at him. He sighed, and hold Shen's left hand and moved it to his neck. Zed answered.  


"Yes."

Everything twisted at that night.

Kusho was practicing Chopin's Nocturne for his concert. Zed, in his early 20s, went to his practice room with his daily medication. The Nocturne was the one he should be practicing, but Zed soon realized that the style of the performance was different. He went to the room without bringing the medication. Zed was running. Following his footsteps, the Nocturne was changing. The dynamics were getting stronger and stronger till he reached his teacher's room.

"Teacher? Are you alright?"  Zed knocked the door, shouting his name, and grabbed the doorknob. It was open. He went into the room.

When the pale white moon appeared through the dark grey clouds, Zed could see a tall, slander man playing the piano covered in blood. With a creepy white mask on his face, he ended the last part of the Nocturne, and turned his face towards his only audience. When the cloud covered the moon once more, he disappeared without a trace. Zed quickly went to Kusho, who was still bleeding.

A clean cut of a skilled person. Zed knew he was too late. He held his teacher's hands and held him tight. Tears were running down his cheeks. He cried till people came with the police. In the room, there was only him, and no trace of the masked man was found. When the police decided to bring Zed to the police office, Zed could see Shen's shocked face.

"Shen." Zed called his name.

It was not me, Shen.

It only needed a day and one sentence from the detective to turn a talented pianist into a merciless murderer. Numerous crowds came to the court, where Zed was accused of Kusho's murder. Zed continuously claimed the existence of another person with a white mask on his face to the judge and the juries, but the evidence was inefficient. The evidence that Zed killed Kusho was not there too, but the verdict was guilty. At the moment of the verdict, Zed could not forget Shen's face. Betrayal, sorrow, and anger.

The pianist lost his honor as a musician. While he was in jail, he could not play the piano. Unfortunately, he also ruined his right hand as he got dragged into a fight. The doctor sighed when he saw Zed's right hand.

"Weren't you a pianist? Your right hand is ruined. You can't even think of playing the piano with this hand."

After that, he was locked in the solitary confinement.

There were several attempts of him trying to die. But he survived. Came out as a free man after several years, he ran away to his old house, avoiding journalists. Coming back to an old dirty house, he lived like a devastated person. What can I do without one hand? Luckily, Zed got an offer from an old instrument shop owner to  inherit his shop. He was a man who let him play the piano when he was a kid. He accepted the offer, and became the owner of the instrument shop. The young owner spent most of the day staring outside the window, looking at people walking by the shop. Some people came into the shop and looked around, and he saw them touching the instruments without saying a word. The ex-owner's old radio was always tuned to the classic channel, sometimes talking about Shen. Zed was matching his lifestyle to his current job.

How could he find where Zed was? It was the 10th anniversary of Kusho's death. That night, Shen came to Zed's shop. That day, Zed was expressing his condolence on his own. Shen came into the shop and saw Zed. He was being emotional. Shen followed Kusho's way as a pianist, but he never played Chopin after that night. Also, Zed could feel that something in Shen's performance was gone. All his pictures showed him with no emotions. Unlike now.

Zed let Shen pour all of his suppressed emotions to him. He only cried and expressed anger to Zed. After that first visit, he came to Zed every once a year.

Because there are no evidence of that masked man. He gave up and left Shen to do what he want to do. This unexpected visit and urging is just an extension of this, Zed thought.

"Hey."

Zed called Shen, with a busted lip. When he realized what he did to Zed, Shen felt extremely ashamed and punched himself too. He was sitting on the opposite side of Zed, turning around and looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry."

Shen said quietly, and Zed could feel Shen's frustration. He could also hear Shen weeping. Zed stayed silent for a while, and opened his mouth.

"There is a kid coming here often. Give him a lesson instead of me."

Shen glanced at Zed.

"I don't take pupils."

"Then you want ME to do it with this face?" Zed showed Shen his bruised face. Shen couldn't say anything. Zed leaned on the wall.

"He'll surpass you or me if he gets proper training."

Zed could feel Shen's big and warm hand slowly touching his bruised eyes. He turned his face to the other side, and did not made any eye contact with Shen. The feeling of his warm hands disappeared. The man looked like he finally calmed down. Zed closed his eyes and said to Shen.

"There is a box next to the piano. Get the ones you want to let that kid play."


End file.
